Neonatal Care Leave: How does it work?
After the UK government announced its Employment Rights Bill in late 2024, a raft of measures are coming into force from 6th April 2025. One of those changes is the introduction of Neonatal Care Leave.
In this blog, we dive into how the leave will work, who is entitled to it, and when it is to be used.
What is Neonatal Care Leave?
Introduced from 6th April 2025, Neonatal Care Leave grants working parents the right to take time off work as a result of their baby being placed into neonatal care for a period of seven consecutive days or more. The act is intended to support parents of babies who are admitted into neonatal care within 28 days of birth.
Parents can take one week’s Neonatal Care Leave in respect of each uninterrupted week (seven days) that their baby receives neonatal care.
The first qualifying period for one week’s leave begins on the second day that the baby first receives neonatal care. As such, parents are entitled to take the first week’s Neonatal Care Leave starting from day nine.
Neonatal Care Leave is a day one right.
What are the different categories of Neonatal Care Leave?
There are two categories for Neonatal Care Leave, which are classed as Tier 1 and Tier 2 periods, and depend on when the leave is taken.
Tier 1 period leave applies to leave taken while a baby is still receiving care, and up to one week after that neonatal care ends. This leave can be taken in non-continuous blocks of a minimum of one week at a time, and ends on the 7th day after a baby stops receiving neonatal care.
Tier 2 period leave applies to leave taken more than seven days after the neonatal care has ended. This leave must be taken in one consecutive block.
Both Tier 1 and Tier 2 period leave must be taken within the first 68 weeks of the baby’s birth (or placement/entry into Great Britain in the case of adoption). This new type of leave will only apply to parents of babies born or adopted on or after 6th April 2025.
What is the maximum amount of Neonatal Care Leave that can be taken?
The maximum amount of Neonatal Care Leave that can be taken is 12 weeks.
In most circumstances it is expected that parents will already be on some form of parental leave if their baby is placed into neonatal care within the first 28 days of their birth or adoption.
However, this new type of leave may well be used by fathers whose paternity leave has ended by the time their baby enters neonatal care.
What qualifies as neonatal care?
The Act identifies three categories of medical care which will count as neonatal care, they are:
- Any medical care received in hospital
- Medical care received elsewhere following discharge from an inpatient stay in hospital. The care must be under the direction of a consultant and includes ongoing monitoring and visits to the child by healthcare professionals
- Palliative or end of life care
Only medical care that falls into one of the above three categories will qualify for Neonatal Care Leave, as long as they occur for at least one interrupted week (seven days), and within the first 28 days of the baby’s birth or adoption.
How much notice is an employee required to give to take Neonatal Care Leave?
For each week of Tier 1 period leave, an employee is required to give notice to their employer before they are due to start work on their first day of absence in that week. If it is not reasonably practicable to give such notice, then an employer must make every effort to inform their employer as soon as possible.
Tier 1 period leave is likely to be used primarily by fathers or partners of the newborn or adopted baby. If the father or partner is already on paternity leave and wishes to take Tier 1 period leave, they would have to notify their employer before the time they are due to start work after paternity leave has finished.
Notice during Tier 1 period leave does not need to be in writing.
For Tier 2 period leave, an employee must give (in writing) no fewer than 15 days’ notice to take one week of leave, and no fewer than 28 days for two or more weeks of leave.
What is Neonatal Care Pay?
Parents who take Neonatal Care Leave may also be eligible for Neonatal Care Pay (NCP). These conditions are the same as Maternity and Shared Parental Pay, which are as follows:
- An employee must have been employed by the same employer for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks ending with the relevant week (which is the 15th week before the week in which the baby is due (approximately the 25th week of pregnancy).
- An employee’s average gross weekly earnings must be at least equal to the lower earnings limit for National Insurance (NI) purposes. In April 2025-26, this is £125 per week.
- Earnings will be averaged over a period of at least 8 weeks up to and including the last pay day before the end of the relevant week. This period is called the ‘relevant period’.
NCP may be paid for a maximum of 12 weeks, and is payable within the first 68 weeks of the baby’s birth.
Managing multiple leave types in one system
Taking leave from work is a given – be it annual, parental, emergency, sick leave or something else.
With many leave entitlements to implement and monitor, it can be a challenge for organisations to follow the correct processes, manage employee time off effectively, and have constant sight over who’s in and who’s off.
Our aim at edays is to provide a global solution to growing and large-scale organisations that empowers you to manage all types of leave – from statutory entitlements to additional leave allowances.
Create custom leave types, manage employee entitlements, view planned leave via group calendars, book time off in days or hours, support part-time and full-time staff, factor in public holidays, and so, so much more.
